NEW ORLEANS—Ask the Baltimore Ravens why their offense has clicked during the playoffs, and you will hear Jim Caldwell’s name mentioned often.

When Caldwell became the Ravens' offensive coordinator in December, his play-calling ability was immediately tested. Caldwell hadn't called plays since 1999, when he was a college coach at Wake Forest. It was a pressure-packed situation for Caldwell, stepping in for Cam Cameron, who was fired with just three weeks left in the regular season.

Jim Caldwell, right, and Joe Flacco quickly meshed after Caldwell took over as the Ravens' offensive coordinator. (AP Photo)

Caldwell has made a difficult transition look easy, and as he prepared for Super Bowl XLVII, he is clearly enjoying his latest career challenge.

"The great thing is that we have a lot of veteran players," Caldwell said Wednesday. "The quarterback is veteran. The offensive line is laden with veterans that have been in the system. We have assistant coaches that have a great understanding. So they have helped me a tremendous amount. It’s been fun. It’s always fun when the guys are playing well."

Caldwell has spent more than a week studying the 49ers, a team with one of the NFL’s strongest defenses. No matter how much he prepares, Caldwell anticipates having to making adjustments once the game begins.

"Every game is so different," said Caldwell, who made his last Super Bowl trip as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts three seasons ago. "The guys on the other side of the ball are talented as well. It will be a test, but you never get tired of this atmosphere surrounding the Super Bowl. Everyone has worked very hard to get here."

Caldwell’s even-tempered personality fits well with Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Changing coordinators can be traumatic for a quarterback, but Flacco and Caldwell quickly found chemistry.

"I think we needed a little bit of a spark," Flacco said. "I think we were starting to level out maybe a little bit, at least that’s what (head coach) John (Harbaugh) thought. We had a couple of losses. I think Jim has done a great job in transitioning and making it as clean as possible and as crisp as possible. I think we’ve gotten back a little bit to our hurry-up (offense) and I think maybe that’s helped us."

Ray Rice also spoke highly of Caldwell, who has remained patient with the Ravens’ running game, giving Rice an opportunity to make plays.

"Jim Caldwell has kept it simple for us," Rice said. "One thing that he’s doing is utilizing the weapons we have. We have the talent, but we have a hard time sometimes trying to get everybody the ball, but right now everybody’s touching it and we’re happy."

Caldwell, and all the Ravens, will be even happier should they win Sunday.